Page 89 of Valley Girls
Deep down, she wanted to be seen. To be accepted. The pencil tipped and she caught it, coming back to the conversation.
“There used to be this really cool sign in the front of the hotel, with an etching of Half Dome on it. I guess they got rid of it when they changed the name,” Caroline was saying. “I wish I would have just taken it.”
“It’s still there,” Rilla said. She’d seen it while weeding for Aiden. “It’s just in the garden. Yard decoration sort of thing.”
“Caroline, you should take it,” Petra said. “She knows where it is.”
“There’s also an abandoned tennis court back there,” Rilla said.
“Really?” Caroline bit another Oreo. “I feel like I need to see that.”
“And there’s a school in the Valley,” Walker said. “I found that out when Rilla arrived.”
Rilla nodded. “Yeah, there’s a school. It’s teeny.” She slapped her notebook. “Hence, this slog.”
“Why don’t you just take your GED?” Caroline asked. “That’s what Walker did when we left Ohio.”
“It’s not hard,” Walker said.
“What?” She could have avoided all this mess with one test? Rilla tilted her head. “I didn’t even know that was an option.”
“You have to be eighteen. There’s a study book. Ask Thea.”
“I turned eighteen last week.” Rilla slapped the notebook closed. “I’mdonewith this shit.”
“Wait.” Walker held up his hand. “Your birthday passed?”
“Rilla!” Petra wailed. “Why didn’t you tell us?”
Rilla shrugged. “Well, it was when the park was evacuated.”
“Oh,” Petra said. “We’ll have to celebrate.”
“Happy birthday!” Caroline said.
Everyone echoed.
Rilla ducked her head, embarrassed. “Thanks, guys.”
“Okay. Take me to see this tennis court,” Petra said. “On our way to take Caroline to get her plaque.”
“I can’t steal the sign,” Caroline said.
“They obviously don’t care about it,” Petra said. “Come on.”
Caroline groaned. “Fine. I want that stupid plaque. Let’s do it.”
Petra pumped her hands and glanced to Adeena. “You coming, Dee?”
“Yeah, that’s a hardno.”
“Do I have to do a dance for you? Are you just jealous?”
There was a pause and Adeena looked up with her eyes narrowed. “I’m not about to risk my visa over your pranks.”
Everyone froze. It wasn’t necessarily that Rilla had forgotten what was going on outside of the park—it was that she hadn’t everappliedit to Adeena. Suddenly, it called into question how she thought about the rest of the world ... it made everything more personal when it applied to her own community.
“Sorry, Dee,” Caroline said quietly. “We won’t go without you.”
